Improvement in spring-vehicles



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. W. MARKS.

' SPRING-VEHICLE. 77 530 Patented Maylfi, 1876.

Fig.1.

ATTEST: mvzmon:

NF'EIERS, PHOTU-UTHDGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. DIG.

. ZSheets-Sheet2. J. W. MARKS.

. SPRING-VEHICLE. Nu.177',530. Patented Ma y1'6, 1876.

FIGJI f I F f,

17 ZZZ .1 E

ATTE'ST:

0&5 62M QM IL PETERS. PMOTGIJTNOGRAPHER, WA'BMING'TOM D. C.

at the lower corners.

The fourth part-of my improvement consists Unrrnn STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

JOHN W. MARKS, OF SUMNER, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SPRING-VEHICLES.

- Specification forming part of- Letters Patent No. 77,530, dated May 16, 1876; application filed April 11, 1876.

Sumner, Lawrence county. State of Illinois,

haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Spring-Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making part of this specification. Y

My present invention is an improvement on the spring-equalizer patented to me the 19th day of January, 1875, No. 158,956.

The first part of my present improvement consists in the combination with a strut and stay brace, substantially similar in operation to that of my former improvement, of a spider or bracket. attached to the extreme forward end of the body bottom, to which the forward end of the brace is attached, and a hinge bracket connected to the running-gear, to which the rear end of said brace is at. tached.

The second 'partof my improvement re- -lates to that class of vehicles in which the in the manner of hingingthe body to the spring-bars. In this connection vertical eyebolts are fixed in the ends of the spring-bars, the eyes being above the bars, and receiving pivot-pins extending laterally from the body in making one or both ends of the strut and stay brace to screw into a socket piece or which pass bolts that screw into the body of the india-rubber buffer-block, and hold it in place. 1

Figure 1 is a side view of the body of a spring-vehicle with my improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the hinge connecting the rear spring to the stock beneath it." Figs. 3 and 4. are detail perspective views of the two members of the hinge shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is anend view of the spider or pendent bracket to which the Fig. 10 is a transverse section of such modified form. Fig. 11 is a detail side view of such modified form of hinge.

Ais the rear stock, to which the hind axle is secured. B is the'reach, connecting rigidly the rear stockA to the fore stock 0. D is a plate secured to the top of the-fore stock, and preferably secured to the reach by an extension, 0. This plate has ears d 11, through which passes the pintle-pin E of the fore. hinge D E F, by which'the fore spring G is connected to the stock 0. The upper member F of the hinge is-attached to the underside of the spring G, and has end lugs or cars f f, through which the pintle E passes. H is the buffer bracket or guard, having end lugs or cars it h, through which pass screw-bolts I, screwing endwise into the india-rubber buffer-block J. Thepurposeof this buffer-block is similar to that of those in ordinary use, and which are strapped to the upper or lower member of the spring at one of the points of its attachment to the spring bar or stock.

The purpose of the bufier is to prevent the upper and lower members of thespring from impingement when the vehicle is loaded and the road rough.

The construction of the buffer is such that the rubber block J can be easily removed by the mere extraction of the bolts I I. The rubber has such a tenacious hold upon the bolts as to hold them in placeagainst any jarring that takes place. The guard-lugs h it serve the brace and the bracket L.

(even when the block J is removed) to prevent the nuts and bolts by which the upper and lower members of the spring are attached to the vehicle from coming in contact with each other (the lugs coining in'contact with the lower part of the spring) on the near approach ofsaid attaching parts.

The connection between the stock A and the hind spring K is substantially similar to the described attachment of the fore stock and spring. The plate D is secured in any suitable manner to the top of the stock A, and forms the bottom leaf of the hinge, and having pintle-lugs d for the. pintle E. Attached to the lower part of the spring K is a plate, F, forming the upper part of the hinge, and having pintle-lugs f. The pintle E in this hinge,

besides forming the pivot for the hinge, also forms the pivotal connection of the bell-crankformed bracket L, by which the strut and stay brace or bar M is connected to the lower member of the rear spring. The bracket L has an arm, I, firmly secured by its end to the reach B, and an arm, 1 pivoted to the rear end of the strut and stay brace M. The elbow of said bracket is pivoted to the hinge, as before described. The ends of the brace M are screwthreaded at m m, and screw into the sockets of caps N and 0, one of which is, preferably, made fast upon the brace-rod M. The cap N has cars it a, through which passes the pintle a, which also passes through the end of the arm 1 so as to form a hinge-joint between The cap 0 has attachment, by ears 0 o and pintle 0, to the lower portion or apex p of the three-legged bracketor spiderP. The ends of thelegs of the bracket P are attached to the bottom of the body in such positions that the point 19 shall be in near proximity to the fore spring.

N0 peculiarity is claimed in the spring-bars It R, except as to their manner of attachment to the body U. Such attachment consists of an eyebolt, S, at each end of each spring-bar,

which passes vertically through said bar, and the eye s of which extends above the bar and receives the pivot-pin T, projecting horizontally and laterally from the body at or near each corner.

It will be perceived that even when the strut and stay brace M is made of considera ble length, as in my improvement, that its moving end, at 0, cannot travel in a straight line, but that it will move in the arc of a circle having a radius equal to the length of the brace M; consequently the body must move forward slight as it descends until the brace becomes horizontal. In my former patent, No. 158,956, the springs were inclined backward to accommodate this forwardmovement of the body in descending. This, it will be seen, did not fully accomplish the desired end, because, although there was no strain upon the spring attachments when the body was in either the upper or lower position, yet the upper part of the springswould be pushed forward on a strain when between these two positions, and consequently a strain upon the attachments would result; whereas, in my present improvement, the joints between the stocks and the springs, and those between the spring-bars and the body, allow the free movement of the parts without strain.

In the modification of hinges shown in Figs. 9, l0, and 11, the plate D has clips d connect ing it. with the stock, and the pintle E passes cation is directly over the middle of the stock and axle.

I claim 1. The combination of the springs G and K with hinges D E F, connecting them to the running-gear or lower works of the vehicle at A G, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of body U, pins T, eyebolts 6, and spring-bars R R, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of hinges D E F, springs G K, and strut and stay brace M, joints S T, and body U, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the brace M, spring K, and fixed bracket L, hinged to the brace and to the spring, so asto allow of their oscillation, substantially as set forth. I

5. The combination, with the brace M, of the screw-cap N, forming the hinge-connection to the bracket L, and made adjustableon the brace, substantially as set forth.

6. The bnfl'er-guard, composed of plate H,

with lugs h It forming guards, and serving for the connection of the rubber spring-block J by bolts I I.

7. The combination of guard H with lugs h h, rubber blocks J, and bolts I I screwing into the substance of the block to form a buffer, substantially as set forth.

JOHN W. MARKS.

Witnesses SAML. KNIGHT, RoB'r. Beans. 

